Hundreds of jobseekers may have been exploited as part of a recruitment scam carried out by a man using the name John Phillips, who is alleged to have offered non-existent jobs and charged applicants up to £480 in "accreditation fees", reports the BBC.

The BBC's Inside Out London programme found Phillips - who is believed to have used a number of names - created at least 10 fake companies, which had realistic-looking websites to arrange the scam. Many of the victims described how they were offered positions as HR assistants at various "companies" after being interviewed in cafes or hotels and then were told they would have to pay an accreditation fee. Some of the jobseekers were never given a start date while others worked for months without pay. When confronted by the BBC, Phillips said he had no knowledge of the claims and refused to comment further. Police have said that they are not aware of any investigation into the matter. According to job search site Safer Jobs, the fraud was the "biggest scam of its kind".